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Overview

Since 2006 there has been a welcome increase in the attention being given to the
specific challenges of TB in children and an increased recognition of its importance as a
global public health challenge. Although most children with TB may not be responsible
for widespread transmission of the disease in the community, TB is an important
contributor to maternal and child morbidity and mortality.

The first edition of Guidance for national tuberculosis programmes on the management of
tuberculosis in children was published in 2006. It resulted in the revision or development
of guidelines for child TB management by national TB programmes in many TB-endemic
countries. Now, however, newly published evidence and new recommendations have
made it necessary to update the original 2006 guidance.

Like the original, this second edition aims to inform the revision of existing national
guidelines and standards for managing TB, many of which include guidance on children.
It includes recommendations, based on the best available evidence, for improving the
management of children with TB and of children living in families with TB. National and
regional TB control programmes may wish to adapt these recommendations according
to local circumstances.